ILONA ANDREWS

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Not Again

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Nykie: Mom, there is a fat black and white squirrel in the back yard.

Kid 1: No! No!

Nykie: Dachshund genes triggered. Attack protocol activate. Mad sprint initiated. Fat squirrel! How dare you come into our back yard?! Meet your doom!

Skunk: Oh crap. There is a small dog with big teeth running straight for me. Abort mission. Initiate evasive maneuvers. Run, run , run!

Nykie: Prepare to die!

Skunk: Chemical attack sequence is a go. Three, two, one…

Nykie, running back and sneezing: Gross! So gross, so gross, so gross…

She didn’t get sprayed by some miracle and she doesn’t stink at all, but that was close. How do these damn skunks keep getting into the back yard? We have blocked all the holes. They are too fat to squeeze under, and I know they are not climbing the fence.

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Comments

  1. Hah, lucky Friday! We have a dead squirrel on top of our shed – left there by an incompetent chicken hawk. What is it with wild animals gone mad?

    • Hah, I am #1! Best thing that happened to me today after my boss called to yell at me for something that wasn’t my fault – twice! (She called again later to apologize.)

      Well maybe second best – my teenage son made cake last night, so I may have had some for breakfast after the first phone call.

      Looking forward to a weekend re-reading Hidden Legacy to prepare for the impending arrival of Emerald Blaze. From glowy snarling Rogan to seething secretive Alesandro – yum!

      • Ok, weird, I was just enjoying some quiet time on my deck and one of those fancy black & white squirrels crawled out from underneath it and ran into the woods behind the house.

        Never seen one here before nor have I never been that up-close-and-personal to one before. (Just glad we are currently dogless, so I don’t have to worry about a Nykie level of enthusiasm.)

        Starting the day reading about a b&w squirrel and now one has materialized in the back yard.

        Keep in mind I’m re-reading Hidden Legacy – I’m going back outside to wait for Mad Rogan to appear.

  3. You apparently are infested with the dreaded Ninja Skunks. Tough to defeat. But imagine if there were were-skunks? See, things could be worse!

    • +1 😊

      Also, Kid 1 (I’m guessing that’s not a stock photo) is beautiful and even color coordinated with her dog! 😁

  7. I was commenting to my husband that I saw two skunks this morning (we have many in our neighbourhood – here in the city of Toronto). If I see one walking down the street, I find another street for my morning walk!

  10. I had a pet skunk as a kid – wonderful pets (gland removed of course). I can tell you that if they can get their head through a hole, crack or space, they can get the rest of the body in as well.

  11. Oh no! so sorry you are dealing with this. But I have to say, you make even a close encounter of the skunk kind hilarious to read.

  12. I think Nykie needs glasses if she can’t tell a squirrel from a skunk.

    I know nothing about skunks. Can they climb trees? Maybe they’re coming OVER the fence? Or maybe they’re paying money, er nuts, to the raccoons and the raccoons are getting them over the fence. Is there a raccoon mafia in your neighborhood?

  13. They made a deal with the local crows to have them transported inside in exchange for entertainment. Could they have a nest inside your property?

  14. Dachshunds are such an entertaining breed! My aunt has had six, seven? Seven. And one of them memorably had a squirrel drop on her head from the tree above (it was trying to leap between trees) neither the squirrel nor Tootsie had any idea of what was going on! Another one did the full on whop-whop spine breaking move on a full grown possum because she was not satisfied it was dead…it was after the whop-whop.

    I wouldn’t be too sure they can’t climb the fence. I have a wildlife camera set up and I’ve seen raccoons, groundhogs, cats, and squirrels all climb my fence (it is chain link, wood slats might be harder). I also have a video of a young fox trying (and adorably failing) to jump the fence. You can get cheap wildlife cameras for as little as $30-$40 on amazon. The amount of entertainment I get out of mine more than makes up for the cost (which was minimal).

  15. The doxie genes will win out every time! There is a reason they are in the hound group, they are good hunting dogs. My old weenie got sprayed by a skunk once, but he learned his lesson after that. My current princess-weiner dog, probably wouldn’t learn that lesson hahaha I love Dachshunds!

    • They are enthusiastic hunters! As a teen I earned extra $ as a beater at dachshund field trials. Seriously. We would flush the rabbits out of the tall grass, and then the doxies had to follow the scent. If they saw the bunny and got excited and chased by sight, they lost points.

      Best dogs ever, especially with small children.

    • Kid 1 is beautiful. She is elegant, perfect features and gorgeous hair.
      She matches the dog. Love his fur, looks part hound maybe , part dachshund and all mischief.
      Glad he escaped the skunk.
      Love the dogs name.
      Your pets in real life and fiction have cool names.
      Grew up with pets, my parents both had pets growing up. Essential members of the family,
      Thank you for the double treats today. !!

      Two treats today!! Thank you !!

  17. I have skunks, possums, racoons, foxes and feral cats. It is amazing how the possums and skunks get into the garage if the door it only open 4 inches. Thankfully my own cats leave the all the other animals alone and there has been no spraying.

  18. I’m sure you’ve already handled this, but did you ever find anyone to do your antique map? If not, I did one for an advertising project years ago. I’m sure I could help you out if you need me.

  19. Skunk small step teleport, Activate! We have a skunk that comes and strolls through the cul de sac each evening. My smoking roomie no longer goes outside to the front porch because he doesn’t want to tempt fate. Rolly polly skunky ollie!

  20. Hahaha !! Nykie is a cutie, totally the kind of dog that I love !! She has a resemblance to a scottie.
    And kid 1 is incredibly beautiful.

  21. At least you have a fence. I live on a farm. So any pet we decide to have. Would be done for the moment it try’s anything to the wild animals that hang out.

  26. Could always be worse. I have rats. They showed up after Hurricane Florence. We’ve killed about 25 in the past 2-yrs…four of them this week. I have no idea how they are getting under my house. They entertain the cats, who hear them down there.

  27. 🤣🤣 we don’t get Skunks in England, well not where we live.
    The Westies would go crazy!

  28. Ah, kids and pets! Without them life would be so peaceful (and boring! ;).

    Kid 1 is gorgeous and Nykie’s a cutie. 🙂

  29. This reminded me of the ferret heist only with skunks instead of ferrets. Maybe the skunks are trying to steal your hard drive? 😂😂

    Does anyone else hear the Mission Impossible theme song or is it just me? Probably with the way work has been this week, it’s me. 😁

    • Exactly! Immediately thought about the ferret heist and was wondering where the stakeout van was parked with Nevada, Cornelius and Rogan…
      Ahhh, Emerald Blaze is coming closer.
      The Mission Impossible theme is a nice soundtrack for the heist 😉

  30. Ever thought about writing a story from the animal‘s perspective? I totally believe you can read their thoughts!

    • I would love to hear what Tulip is thinking.

      Not sure feasible, but can you imagine the option in an electronic book to click a pop-up for Tulips thoughts on the matter. I can hear the snark and eye-roll.

      Who wants hay and oats when there are tasty animals available…blood, what blood…no, that’s not a tail you see stuck in my teeth…stupid human, you have no idea who you are talking to, if she hadn’t asked me to be nice you’d already be missing an ear or two – nah, chunk of your a** would be better with all that juicy fat…

  33. Skunks can climb, and they like to dig. I had to help my dad relocate a family many years ago who had decided that they would hole up under an outhouse. We found out about it when my mom was using it and the babies started squealing.

  34. Thank you for the fun little anecdote. I’m glad that Nykie didn’t need a name change to Stinky.

    Quite some time ago, several writing samples from a couple
    of unknown (Guesses were made.) young authors were posted for feedback. Did either of those authors ever go on to publish anything?

    I can’t find the original post and if there were any updates I missed them.

    I would love to have some new Authors to read, especially since it will be so very many days until
    the next Ilona Andrews book release 🙂 . I have found quite a few from various posts on this site. Thank you, especially for Grace Draven and Jessie Mihalik. (I don’t think I would have found either one without this site.)

    • I just got two more books in the “Shinigami Detective” “The Case Files of Henri Davenforth” series that was recommended a while ago on this blog. The author (Honor Racontuer, interesting nom de plume) seems very prolific with several series, but I have only read the 4 books in this particular series. A bit of Hercule Poirot meets Randle Garrett’s Lord Darcy, with a little bit of bad-ass female FBI agent mixed in.

      Thank you to the Ilona Andrews duo for sharing interesting authors for us to try while waiting for new IA books. And I am reconciled to the waiting, because they deliver such a high quality product. Thank you —

      PS – Only 3 and a half days to go ….

  38. Jumping makes me think of Pepe 😀
    Animal Control note “the difference is that because skunks are very effective diggers, it is also important that any fence you put in place is embedded at least six inches into the ground.”

    • Moth balls used to be a common solution to rodent problems, but now they are recognized as being toxic to pets and they pollute the environment.

      If you want to go a more natural route, I have heard that “Zoo Poo”, specifically lion/big cat dung will ward off small animals because they smell a large predator when the dung is spread.

      Or, maybe you could borrow a night vision camera and use it to locate their entry portal since ‘black and white squirrels’ are usually nocturnal.

      However you go about defeating your wily adversary, I wish you Good luck with your mission!

  40. Skunks are INCREDIBLY squashable – very like rats…if their heads (which are tiny) fit, then they can smush their bodies through a crack/hole/loose wire. I am constantly amazed by the tiny spaces they’ll squeeze through. Also, most skunks are very docile…unless there’s a dog-shaped fur rocket headed toward them!

    • I think I remember reading something similar with regards to coyotes in Patty Briggs’ Mercy books. Mercy had some comment where if her coyote head could make it through something then her body could, too. Apparently that is a trait a lot of animals have in common. Who knew?

  41. Personally I have given up all hope of predicting how small of a hole an animal can fit through. My 45-lb dog can fit under a fench if there’s more than about 3″ of space.

    Skunks are closely related to mustelids, which any respectable wildlife biologist can tell you are mostly made of oobleck (the remaining percent being pure fury, but the oobleck:fury ratio varies somewhat depending on species; I hear that wolverines approach a 50:50 oobleck:fury ratio). Skunks are likewise mostly oobleck (one of the reasons they were historically grouped with mustelids), but they have a slightly different but related compound instead of fury. I’m not sure exactly what it is (possibly spite), but it smells terrible and is hard to get out.

  42. We’ve had skunks dig under fences before. Let’s hope they’re not denned inside the fence line?

    Now that we don’t have dogs roaming around, hubby and I tend to hide and wait for the skunks to wander through. It can get pungent, and they’re not upset.

  43. I have a real black and white squirrel in my community. I could attached a photo / video if I were allowed.

    At first I thought it was a cat

  47. We have much beloved ancient elevated deck. Out walking about 430am and a SKUNK walking down sidewalk singing little bo-dee-oh-do song turns into the property walks to deck basically lifts up deck board corner in they go and good day to all! Umm. OK good on you! Ninja skunks rule. Sigh.

  48. Aren’t skunks supposed to be good diggers?
    They may have dug a hole in an area that hides the exit/entrance.

  50. Hahaha. Great fun. Is it possible they’re not “getting in” because they live there and can’t get out.

  51. Oh thanks heavens. So hard to get rid of that smell. I caught Ted playing with a baby skunk and I guess it was too young to spray. I’m glad momma didn’t get in on the action but now I try and keep an eye out when they go out.

  53. You’re kinda lucky. My mom’s friend has some hound whose favorite activity is hunting and killing skunks.

    The dog brings the dead skunk to her, and then she gets to play a very smelly game of tug, trying to convince her dog to release the corpse.

    It’s a city dog, so it has never had the chance to hunt before, but they have been spending the summer in a particularly skunk-infested region. The dog has killed nearly 10 skunks, just in the back yard (he doesn’t get off the property.)

    The dog has never been happier.

  54. They don’t need a hole, they can flatten themselves down like a pancake and slide under.

    Shake moth flakes along the outside of the fence, it helps as a deterrent.

    You might need to sink wire fence or line the bottom with rocks to keep them out. 😎

  55. Yup, dachshunds are insanely territorial. Good luck trying to stop kamikaze attacks on things in the back yard that Nykie does not recognize at a distance.

    Mine once jumped into the middle of a cat “confrontation”. The two resident lady cats were discussing the fact that my neighbors enormous tom cat was unwelcome in their back yard – loudly with an emphasis in the “cuss” part. Wolvie hit the cat door already at a full run. I saw the tom cat dismiss him as “no threat” until Wolvie hit him at a dead run and rolled him completely. Then he couldn’t get back over the fence fast enough.

    (Wolvie was short for Wolverine – from the comic books – as he was short, wore brown, had long claws and a tendency to go berserk. It was before the movies.)

  56. according to my daughter, wildlife rescuer (skunk whisperer).

    I recommend checking to see if they are actually ‘ too fat’. Skunks can flatten to about 4 inches to squish under objects, and younger skunks can get even flatter. Usual rule of thumb is that if you can fit the front of a close toed shoe into a gap, the skunks can get in. Check under gates for space where a determined skunk may squish their way in.

  58. Rofl! Thanks for today’s giggle. Skunks do climb, the spotted ones seem especially good at it, striped ones less so. But they prefer burrowing under. Better check the fence line again. Heh

  59. Hahaha, my dumb ass was sitting here thinking, ‘wow, I’ve never seen a black and white squirrel before’, then I figured it out, duh, smh.

  61. We have moles and snakes. You’d think the snakes would scare the moles. Nope. My dogs catch the moles (or dig until they do) and then play catch with them.

    • Can you send your dogs to my house? I have moles & my Cavalier isn’t interested in meeting them. I had a friend bring her dachshund over but he was more interested in exploring my yard than digging for moles!

  62. I’m sorry, but you BELIEVE you have blocked all the holes, but this seems to be a mistake on your part. Every night we have skunks, they fill our house with their special “smell” and we’ve seen a young pair of skunks cavorting about on our front lawn. Nothing seems to keep them out, and they come and go through our fenced property with ease. Who knows how they do it, they just do.

  63. Skunks are related to ferrets, ferrets can get into the smallest spaces. I used to have one that could fit under my bedroom door.

  64. How do these damn skunks keep getting into the back yard?

    Maybe they have come in from The Edge?

    • Actually, I had luck keeping little critters out of my yard buying granulated coyote piss and spreading it around wherever I found holes, also by the landscaping.

    • I was just thinking, maybe they need to invest in some pressure sensors for their laundry vents?

  65. I once had a family of skunks move under my house. We found the hole under the porch where they went in. We put a cinderblock there to block it, They moved the cinderblock. Ended up using chickenwire fencing, buried 6 inches deep and 6 inches forward in an L shape so they would not dig under it.

    Before that, we tried a humane trap. Caught every cat in the neighborhood, including my own (who knew cats liked peanut butter?), plus one VERY large and angry raccoon.

    • We had a racoon getting into our corn so I baited a Havahart trap with bread and molasses. Yup. I caught a skunk. Cute little guy, really liked the bread and molasses. I took a long handled cultivator and tried to lift the latch that way to release him. Nope, not gonna work. Then I realized he was just lying there watching me. I had been nailed once before when a dog dodged and wasn’t looking forward to a repeat, but I slowly walked up to the cage, talking the whole time to the skunk. I safely flipped open the cage door and retreated, heading back down hill to the house. I glanced back and did a double take because he was following me, trotting happily along. “Hey, lady, got any more molasses?” He followed until my four canines spotted me and headed up the hill. Skunk exited stage left on the double, and my stalwart canines never even realized that I had company. Apparently raccoons and skunks are interchangeable in live traps.

  66. The pic with your daughter (Kid1) is simply stunning. I can just see her in the mystical/magical crew of the KD world. :). Especially in a character Roman would go nuts over, LoL. Her eyes, wow; the deep, deep well of a very old soul.

    Loved this recap of Nykie’s near miss! Thank goodness!!

    I have used critter cams for years and seen skunks – one of the biggest ever -, foxes, does & fawns, bucks fighting, a scary large coyote on my PATIO!, and myriad other nocturnal visitors. They can be addictive to watch or scary to know everything that comes through your yard at night, lol!!

  67. Haha! If the acme of skill is to win without fighting, Nykie is aptly named.

    In absence of other explanations, perhaps there is enough collective faith in skunk teleportation that now they have that ability. More mundane (or possibly not so?) squishing down and digging under explanations also entertaining to visualize.

    Skunk near miss story totally fun, and then I came for the comments and was not disappointed.

    Thanks for lightening the load of my day.

  71. Are there nearby trees for them to climb over? I think I read somewhere that under extraordinary circumstances, skunks can climb trees… so there must be something extraordinarily irresistible about your yard? 🤔

    I’m very relieved your dog wasn’t sprayed though. Phew!

  74. We were invaded by skunks while camping. They even got into the kids tent. They stole all the marshmallows and Oreos and we let them have ’em. It was crazy, you should have seen the great exodus from the kids tent, not to mention all the screaming. Poor neighboring campers.

  75. Yeah, skunks burrow and make huge dens underground, so they can pretty much come up anywhere they want to be. And yes, they can fit through a hole the size of a dime, I think.

    The fun part is that Nykie ran before the spray hit her.

    Tales such as this are why I’m thankful that my cat who goes out climbs up onto the top of the van to avoid the wild animals if she’s out after dark. I don’t like going out to get her, but at least she is safe. The only solution I have ever found is to leash the dog when the sun goes down and it needs to go out. Then hang on tightly, because a sudden jerk can get that leash out of your hand and the dog is chasing the skunk again.

  76. Are you sure they’re not living in a shed or something? Because they do that. Or under a porch.

  77. My standard poodle grew up in a neighborhood infested by skunks. We saw a skunk every night on walks in certain seasons, sometimes multiple times per night.

    Alas- her first encounter with a skunk was a baby skunk, while off leash. The skunk was unafraid , my 5 month old puppy was unafraid. They sniffed and the puppy tried to engage in play.

    Since then? Skunks are FRIENDS. She runs up, play bows, and tries to sniff their butt if I am not paying attention. Miraculously, we have only been sprayed once – as I pulled her away when we turned a corner and surprised one, and she went for the butt sniff and i yanked her away. On the end of a 6′ leash…. great fun. Both me and the dog, leash, collar, clothes… got washed down with enzymatic skunk remover, and no one at work commented the next day, so must have worked, though it took 2 applications, you could literally sniff out spots I had missed.

    I consider keeping a bottle or enzymatic skunk remover in the house an excellent investment 🙂

  78. Like possums, skunks can and will climb even a tall wood fence, surprisingly quickly and ably too. http://wildliferemovalusa.com/skunkclimb.html
    If you’ve got a camera in the backyard or can set one up, try a little surveillance to see where Pepe Le Pew is going in your yard. It may be that you can remove or change whatever interests it and it’ll stop swinging by. They like fruits and bugs so if you’ve got an insect nest or fruit trees that may be what’s interesting to it.

    If you want an solution you can order quickly, you can buy fox urine off the internet and pour it all over the fence particularly where you see the thing entering. Fair warning: That stuff smells and if you’ve got dachshunds they’ll go nuts sniffing at it.

  79. You know there not climbing the fence. Do you really? But actually its obvious, look at those tree limbs over the fence. Or what about parachuting in? What look like small white rocks are actually camo parachutes.

  82. Oh my gosh too funny! My mom had a friend who would sit in the yard and feed stray cats. He’d hang his hand over the side of the chair so the cats could get pet if they wanted. One “cat” had the strangest shaped head and when he looked it was one of those “black and white squirrels” He didn’t get sprayed either.

    Speaking of wildlife, here in the not so wild Southern California suburbs, last night I had a huge raccoon climbing the the tree by my front door. Which was more welcome than the stinkin coyotes that ate a cat in my backyard! ugh (wasn’t my cat, I keep my animals inside…well except my tortoise and he has burrows)

    Apparently babbling is the thing I do today… Thanks for the funny story!!

  83. Skunks will only come into your yard if there is a food source. You probably have grubs in your lawn

  84. Darn those sneaky black and white squirrels. And those equally devious groundhogs that turn into skunks when the dog gets there. You talk about magical morphing. Whew.

  86. If you have a deck or something you might want to check to see if they have made a nest down there.
    If you sealed up all the holes the skunk(s) may be trapped in the yard.

  87. Your daughters are so beautiful. I am glad Kid 1 is doing better, and that Nykie didn’t get sprayed.

    Skunks burrow quickly 🤷🏼‍♀️ Also, I think happy pets send off pheromones or something, so ALL the animals show up 😳

  88. Skunks are nocturnal. They are enthusiastic diggers/tunnelers who can mash themselves through implausibly small holes.

    Daylight skunks often ill/rabid. We wound up burying ag fencing almost 20” deep because of rabid skunk problem (they are prevalent in my region).

  89. Somehow my mind has visualized Pepe Le Pew in Ninja gear, which is so wrong on so many levels.

  90. My husband has always said that the best way to get rid of skunks is to get rid of one of their favorite foods — grubs. We’ve lived in Michigan and Ohio and definitely have had grubs and skunks digging for them in both states. Whenever I see a neatly dug hole, around 1-2″ in diameter, I think skunk!
    Good luck!

  91. I have had luck putting moth balls around the fence. They evaporate and must be replaced every couple of months. The skunks disked them enough to go bother someone else.

  94. Get your husband to pee all around the perimeter of the yard. At night of course. It sounds weird but it works for us and we live near a river.

  95. Skunks dig! They dig holes. They live in the holes they dig. And they tunnel too.

    Anyone else hear the story about the disappearing calf carcasses? Some scientists had left a number of carcasses out in the wild to do a study on decomposition and the carcasses kept disappearing. They put out wildlife cameras and found that badgers were burying the carcasses. They dig too

  96. We have a tail-challenged mangy, flea bitten (in a litteral way) coyote that is insisting that it lives in our yard. Chasing, yelling, spoon on cookie sheet harrying be damned. IT. WILL. NOT. GO. AWAY. It ate a cat on our lawn. It pooped fruit seeds on our patio. The bushes are trimmed up, leaf litter swept away. I need Roadrunner.

    • I feel your pain Jen! Just had a coyote eat half a cat in my yard too. Thankfully it didn’t stick around, but there is a group of them haunting the area at night eating every animal left outside. Ugh! I’m not violent but….

  97. Um…. we regret to inform you that shunks climb quite well and have been know to scale fences and even some walls. They can definitely climb trees so if you have those w overhanging branches…..

    Good luck! I’m sorry. Kid 1 is gorgeous. And I’m so glad the dog doesn’t stink!

  98. Had a pet skunk when I was a kid. (“descented”) It’s astonishing how flat they can get to squeeze under something.

  101. Have you read either of the Lawdog books? They are funny and one of the stories is about a doxy and birds in his back yard. They are both really entertaining.

  102. Try hooking up a motion activated sprinkler. We use them to keep all sorts of animals out of our yard (deer and cats mainly….the squirrels think it’s a game)

  104. Actually, they do climb fences. A friend of mine, in the southern central part of TX, has a small barn with security cameras. She aimed it at a closed corral, where the feral cat had her kittens to cute watch. After the cats got big enough to climb out, she left their food in the corral to keep it safe. Last week, the cats disappeared and on the feed she saw a family of racoons and a skunk climb the fencing and eat all the cat food.

  105. We had a pet skunk….He could climb like nobody’s business!! We used different types of baby gates and they never held him. If the fence is chain linked, they could be going over!

  107. That is Just sooooo funny!
    I got my belly laugh for the day !

    Not of course that getting Skunk sprayed is funny, but your narration of the event is wonderful!

  108. Thank you for the post, Ilona Andrews. I ROFLOL and LMAO. If you have feral cats visiting, you have skunks. Wherever a cat can go so can a skunk.

    Be relieved. I got a call from my non English speaking neighbor to come quick during lunch today. She was freaking out. Hysterical even. City girl not country. There was a young black rat snake, which are non poisonous, in her house. Thankfully Siri has an excellent translation program on cell phone. I got snake out of house and then next closest neighbor arrived and it got bagged for release elsewhere. Thank goodness wasn’t a skunk.

  110. You should look into solar mole repellant. They supposedly repel burrowing animals by sending a sonic tone underground. Idk if this applies to your situation exactly, but it may be worth looking into! I’m gonna reread Sapphire Flames this weekend in preparation for Emerald Blaze, really excited!

  111. Skunks do hate water – so if you need to safely herd them away distance squirting with the garden hose is useful, especially if they show an inclination to turn back towards you. They really don’t want to have water squirted under their tails. I managed to safely get one out of a have-a-heart trap that way.
    The only predator that I know of is the Great Horned Owl.

  114. Skunks are related to Houdini. They can get in and out of anywhere. Also skunks can hiss and growl like a cat. MY sister’s shar pei knew the neighborhood’s skunk’s schedule and the skunk knew the dog. It would hiss when it heard the license tags clanking. That’s the first warning. Then when the dog ignored the warning it would spray. Dog always ignored the warning. Of course when I was dog sitting hissing skunks were never covered in the “what to expect”. I thought it was a cat, sounded just like it. Got to go to the all night pharmacy to pick up Masengill douches. Mountain fresh scent I believe

  115. Очи чёрные, очи жгучие,
    Очи страстные и прекрасные,
    Как люблю я вас, как боюсь я вас,
    Знать увидел вас я не в добрый час.

    Очи чёрные, очи пламенны
    И монят они в страны дальные,
    Где царит любовь, где царит покой,
    Где страданья нет, где вражды запрет.

    Your daughter shows why Russian men sing to the women with dark and burning eyes.

  116. If a skunk can get its head in a hole it can flatten it’s body enough to squeeze through lol used to have a pet skunk and you would be surprised where they can get

  117. They can climb!! We have a six foot fence. We have sunk landscaping border around and routinely check for holes. I read up on it because we were getting skunks in our yard. We were not as lucky. One dog gets skunked. The other dives in and gives a killing shake. I am not sure what the score is.

  118. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but skunks are known to be able to climb both trees and wooden fences.

  119. I’ve never encountered skunks before, but after reading all the comments, I keep picturing Pepe Le Pew, lounging on top of the fence in a ninja suit, doing his best come hither “bonjour, dah-ling”.

    Kid 1 looks unimpressed by the doxie escapades. I once had a Jack Russell who got stuck in a rabbit burrow and had to be dug out. Twice. So I feel her pain on the subject of vertically challenged yet blindly enthusiastic destroyers of fluffy things. It’s good they’re cute, yeah? lol

  121. Just an FYI-skunks can climb trees and fences as well as dig underneath most fences. They have claws that allow them to climb and dig really well. I used to live in MA and they would dig under our storage shed and make a home after climbing the fence to get in the yard!!

  122. Haha we have a dog Poppy w?his 15 and now a cat who’s 3. The cat would like the dog to leave her territory. She the cat tries to stop the dog going out or coming and she wants it gone. And as the cats a bit bigger and thinks she’s the boss

  124. Weird thought just sprang up. Grendel is a poodle, which is part of the hound group. Dachshunds are also part of the hound group. A dachshund could conceivably have the same magic as Grendel. Imagine, if you will, a dark dog with glowing eyes, a fear field, and whatever other talents that Grendel has, but barely reaches knee height on all fours.

  125. But mom I am shadow it can not see me I have to let it know I am here and that I will defend our House!

  127. Skunks can dig, even under fences. They love gardens. Your home is critter central, with the deer, etc. Curran is uber-magnetic, to attract them through your writing 😉

  129. Are you sure you didn’t trap the skunk inside the fence when you blocked the holes? Just a thought.

    Glad it missed, though.

  130. Hehehe. I have more experience with striped squirrels than I care to share. Including Chapter, 1 week before the first pretty dog show of the year, getting a full dose. Other than Skout’s Honor skunk shampoo which I used, I have no idea how his handler got rid of the stench. Or, wearing masks helped contain his perfume!

  132. Wow, that is a great backyard! No wonder you have fat black and white squirrels that want to be permanent tenants. 😁

  133. They might be climbing it. Friend from PA caught one climbing her fence and it was boards too- and my dad said they were always getting into our yard when we were little until he put barbed wire on top to discourage squirrels from sitting on it prompting our dog into kill the fence mode. Not sure if there are different kinds of skunks and maybe some climb and some don’t? I know they aren’t tree climbers but my PA friend says it nearly gave her a heart attack catching one trying to wiggle over the top of her fence.

  134. We had one stand on our back porch in California on a beautiful night. The issue was that 1) the sliding glass door was open, so the only protection was a screen. 2) Stinky the skunk was standing there looking in at us, and 3) Muffin, the attack toy poodle was asleep on the floor about 5 feet away. We all sat there not moving for fear Muffin would wake up.

    As a side note, Skunks eat grubs, and yards have grubs, so de-grub your yard, and the skunks will stop gracing you with their odiferous presence.

  135. My skunk comes to eat cat food I put out for the feral cats. Big. Big fluffy tail. Peppy Le Pew

  137. I should be sorry to laugh at your pain but you make so funny! I have been told by several good ol’ country boys that yes indeedy skunks are good climbers. Maybe razor wire?

  138. Solar powered motion sensing flood lightning is a good start. Skunks will climb fences, but there is probably a place that they can crawl under.

  139. I saw some skunks at a nearby construction site climb from a chainlink fence to the last part of a concrete wall and they climbed up the vertical surface to get to the top. Like cats they are also very good at squeezing between and under gaps. And in some ways it is better than if they cornered a porcupine

  140. There is a horror movie out called “I was a teenage Wereskunk.” It was on google play. Maybe it might cheer kid one up 🙂

  141. Does anyone remember the John Travolta movie where he was the town good ol boy…..who had a brain tumor that turned him into a genius? He had a garden with a fence…and a bunny problem…he fixed the fence…but the bunny kept getting in…more fixing…still the bunny 🐇.
    If you’ve blocked off all the ways the bunny could get in….maybe what you’ve really done has been to block the bunny from getting OUT. 🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇!

  142. I’m methodically reading all the Hidden Legacy to be ready for Emerald Blaze. This reading thing was so much faster BC (before children). Who needs sleep anyway?

  144. I am so glad Nykie did not get bombed. As a teen I had a Samoyed who loved to hunt and chase skunks. Samoyed… White dog. Big dog. But again.. White dog. My mom told me at the time the only way to get rid of the smell was to bathe the dog in tomato juice. Again… Big white dog. In bathtub.. With tomato juice. I dare anyone to try it. Never worked. But mom kept saying bathe the dog in tomato juice. So.. Wash, rinse, repeat. For many years. I was the only kid in the neighborhood with a pink dog. Wish I had a doxy at the time.

    • We had the exact same situation with a white cat. Daisy was extremely embarrassed for quite a while. We thought it was funny but she refused to talk to us for a long time

  145. That was hilarious, particularly since your dog didn’t get sprayed. Thank you for the laugh – I needed that.

  149. According to Crusoe, the Celebrity Dachshund, a skunk is known as a “spicy squirrel”. Once triggered Dachshund hunting genes cannot be denied!! 😂😂 I have 2 of them so I feel your pain.

  150. Glad she avoided the spray! My sister has a collie with an over active herding/mother instinct. She just can’t stand to leave the pretty black and white kitties outside in the weather. She was sprayed 3 times last winter.

  151. Woah, close call! Great commentary 😂. By the way, skunks can climb trees as well as many fences so that actually might be their mode of ingress.

  152. Years ago I had 7 cats and built them an outdoor pen so they could go outside when it was cooler at night. I went out one night and saw all 7 sitting on top of their houses. I looked down and a white skunk and her 2 just were chowing down on the cat’s food. She has dug under the fence. I had to get landscape timbers to barrier it, but she kept digging and chowing down for a month, and the cats kept roof sitting. Cute little buggers!

  155. Ilona & Gordon,
    I’ll be praying for you guys with the storm that looks like it’s headed your way.

  156. I just want to know which douchecanoe decided books are released in the middle of the week a Tuesday really!!!? I have to work during the week like most people I don’t have time to read during the week. hell I would pay more to have it published on a Friday or Saturday so I can read in peace over the weekend

    • Actually Ilona is worth the wait. I don’t care what day it comes out, as long as another story is on the way.

  157. When I lived in Santa Cruz CA skunks were all over the place. They traveled via underground springs and popped up in the oddest places. I lived in a residential area near downtown and had to keep my cats inside at night because of skunks and possums. The mating season was very stinky and I knew some guys who grew marijuana in outside patches in town because the strong skunk odor was thought to be skunks and not stinky weed. They never got caught!
    We once set a live trap to catch a possum that came for the cat food and caught a skunk! Had to call animal control, there was no way we were going to go near the skunk and get sprayed. they came and took it away to release in a more rural area. Likely up at UCSC where skunks and raccoons lived like kings.
    Good luck and keep all animal food inside the house!

  158. Skunks are cute and mostly harmless. We see skunks, raccoons, and foxes all the time at night. We had a family of them living under our shed last winter, we evicted them in the spring by placing a garden hose at a drizzle by their hole (they didn’t like mud). They can climb, dig, and squeeze through small spaces. They’re funny to watch catching bugs. Invest in some skunk odor remover, make sure your pets have their rabies shots, and keep pet food indoors.

  160. They may have a den somewhere in the yard(under a porch, crawl space, etc.) and by blocking the holes you have trapped them in the yard. We has a family of them under our front porch but luckily we were able to get rid of them without anyone getting sprayed.

  161. Skunks can actually climb very well. They can climb chain link and wooden fences with no problem. I have 2 Chinese Shar Pei. A skunk sprayed them & then escaped by climbing up our chain link fence. Ever tried to get skunk smell out of a thousand wrinkles? Fun times…

  163. The skunk fairy built a magic portal, totally invisible to all but skunk senses.
    Alternatively, do you have any overhanging bushes or other plants that the skunks can use as a ladder? Also, they can, and frequently do, dig under things.

  164. The skunks might be climbing in, if branches overhang your wall. They aren’t squirrels, but they can climb if motivated.

    Beautiful picture

  167. I have always lived in rural areas and never had a problem with skunks. Until I moved to Albuquerque. My unwanted visitors were digging under the wooden fence. Two years ago I scored a great deal on landscaping rock and now have a 3 foot wide boarder around the yard that is 3 to 4 inches deep.
    Nice, but did not solve the problem. Further inspection of my domain revealed a hole dug under my shed. I threw mothballs under there, waited a day and then filled in the hole. I rejoiced in my victor. However, jubilation was very short lived.
    Last week, I enjoyed my coffee on the patio and allowed my cat to remain there as it was one of the cooler mornings we have had. I let her back in about a half hour later and could smell the return of the little blighters. I had an appointment, so I thought I will deal with this later.
    Opening the door to the house was like walking into the skunk’s den. My first thought was it’s in the house! I ran around shutting all the doors so if it was in the house at least I would confine it. My cat rubbed against my leg and I picked her up, as if that would protect her from the smell. That is the moment that I discovered that she had been the victim of the scent bomb. She got the classic tomato juice bath, which actually did cut the smell by 95%. Then the kitchen and living area were mopped with ammonia water. Now things are smelling so much better. Until I opened the bedroom doors. My precious kitty had rolled around on both beds, so they were stripped and went into the washer. More mopping.

    Yes your dog was lucky, but from my standpoint, you were luckier.

  168. I’m re-reading Sapphire Flames and with the pic of Nykie, I now see where you got the description of Shadow. 😀

  169. If the skunks were already inside the fence when you patched the holes you might have inadvertently blocked them inside your property.

  171. You just haven’t figured out that you are in the skunks territory. That’s ho they know their way around. Glad you pet or youngster didn’t get anointed.

  172. Gotta ask. What came first: Nykie or Shadow? Was Shadow inspired by Nykie, or is it just a coinkydink?

  173. They are lured by the temptation of war games against daschund with triggered battle genes.

  174. One of the reasons I enjoyed Janet Chapman’s books was that I loved her letters at the end of her stories updating about what she thought and was happening around her with family, pets, Mother Nature, and wildlife in her life… I was saddened her warm and funny light had come to an end…so reading your story of your dog, Nykie brought fond memories of Ms. Chapman’s letters…thank you

  175. My dog got sprayed. He got sprayed and then I stunk like a skunk. I was working as an elementary school teacher at a time. The smell was torture to me and my class, lol.

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